


God-Given Solace

by jetplane



Series: Whumptober 2020 [14]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bombing, Bombs, Character Death, Death, Episode: s04e01 Mayhem, Explosions, Fire, Gen, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27036448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetplane/pseuds/jetplane
Summary: Morgan is driving the ambulance with a bomb. He can't get out in time, and Garcia can't stop talking to him.(based on episode 04x01, "Mayhem", in which a terrorist bomb almost kills Hotch and another is hidden inside a hospital)prompt: fire (day 14)
Relationships: Penelope Garcia & Derek Morgan
Series: Whumptober 2020 [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946050
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	God-Given Solace

**Author's Note:**

> This story is short and not as intense as some of my others because I've been falling a little bit behind on my Whumptober prompts. But I threw as much drama here as I could, so I hope you enjoy!

“Why does it always have to be you?!” Garcia wails. “Why do you always have to do this?” She watches the bar on the monitor slowly creep down. There’s less than a minute left before the bomb inside Morgan's ambulance detonates.

Morgan turns behind him to look at the device. His face is soaked with sweat and he can barely breathe as he swerves between cars at full speed. The drivers on the road aren’t nearly careful enough, and his tactical driving lessons never covered this situation. If he hits another vehicle...

“Derek, you don’t have much time. Please be smart about this,” Garcia begs. A map flashes on her screen. “Signal’s coming back online.”

“Thirty seconds to full coverage,” the officer next to her reports.

“Derek, drive to the opening and get the hell out,” Penelope demands. Her eyes stick to the tiny arrow on her monitor that represents Morgan’s ambulance as it travels down the path.

“There’s something I really want you to know, Garcia,” Morgan says between heavy breaths. He’s not going to make it. There isn’t enough time.

“Save it,” she says desperately. “Just get out.”

Morgan glances back to the bomb again. “No, no, no, I’m not quite there yet.”

“Morgan,” Garcia says. Beside her, the officer starts counting down from ten.

“Just listen to me,” he demands.

“Morgan,” she pleads. “Morgan, please.”

“You know what you are, Garcia?” Derek asks. He doesn’t know it, but somewhere, the bomber is making a call.

The officer beside her looks up grimly. “We just lost tracking.”

“Morgan!” Penelope wails.

In a field not too far away, the long-awaited signal reaches the device. It connects.

And then the world tears apart.

The ambulance explodes and metal sprays everywhere. Fire consumes the wreckage, clouds of smoke and flame shooting half a kilometer into the sky. Bits of debris catch fire and rain down, lighting up the ground with smaller blazes.

“Derek?” Her voice quivers.

Fifteen meters from the inferno, an agent slowly raises his head. His ears ring and his head throbs. Everything feels weird, especially his chest. He raises one hand to his vest and it finds something hard. He lifts his head.

Oh. That’s not good.

Sticking out of his chest is a thick piece of shrapnel. The agent lets his head drop back and raises his fingers over his eyes. In the flickering firelight, he can tell that they’re stained dark. He uses the bloody fingers to turn on the radio at his shoulder. “Garcia,” he says between heavy breaths. Penelope lets out a sigh of relief, shaking her head. For a moment, it seems like everything is going to be alright.

He opens his mouth again, but all that spills out is a series of coughs. They sound wet and Morgan wheezes in between each one. Blood dribbles down the side of his face. “Derek?” Garcia asks shakily. No response. “Derek, I’m going to get you an ambulance, just hold on. Just hold on, please.” Her fingers fly across the keyboard.

Morgan closes his eyes for a moment, then reopens them and stares at the sky. He knows he’s not going to last long enough for another ambulance to arrive. “Garcia...I’ll tell you what you are to me,” he croaks.

“No,” she protests. “No, don’t say anything; you’re going to be fine. You’re going to be fine, Derek!”

“You’re-” he rasps. More blood bubbles up in his lungs and he can’t quite clear all of it. “You’re my God-given-” Derek gasps. “Solace.”

Garcia closes her eyes. “Derek, please,” she begs. “Don’t say that like you’re - like you’re - you’re going to be fine, alright? You can tell me yourself when - when-”

“Penelope,” he whispers. “Babygirl, please.”

She whimpers, eyes filling with tears. “I’m right here. I’m right here, Derek.”

“Please don’t-” he wheezes “-ever stop-” another wheeze “-talking to me.”

“I won’t,” she promises. “I won’t, Derek, please hold on, just a little bit longer-” Through her tears, Garcia can see the ambulance on her map. Ten centimeters have never looked so far away. “It’s almost here. Derek?”

He’s too tired to speak now. His lungs feel like they’re being crushed inside his chest, and every intake of breath hurts. It would probably be easier to breathe through broken glass.

“Derek? Derek, please,” Penelope begs. Tears spill freely down her cheeks. “Don’t leave, please. You’re going to be okay; you have to be okay. Derek, I need you to stay with me!”

In the distance, a siren wails. Despite his closed eyes, the light of the fire seems brighter. The strange feeling in his chest fades away, replaced by a soothing warmth. It’s calming. If Morgan could still breathe, he would tell Garcia that. She doesn’t have to be upset. He’s okay now.

The light engulfs him. “Derek, I’m still here,” she sobs. “I’m still here. I’m still talking to you, just like I promised.”

The officer next to Garcia places a hand on her shoulder. “Penelope,” she says softly. “You can stop now.”

She bats it away. “No!” she shouts. “I can’t stop - I promised -” Garcia holds onto her headset tighter. “Derek…please...”

She doesn’t know how long she sits there babbling before she hears something in her earpiece. “Morgan?” she asks hopefully.

There’s a rustling noise, then a tapping sound. A man’s voice. “Hello?”

“Hello?” Garcia’s whole body trembles. “Who is this?”

“This is EMT Howard with DC FEMS.”

“Oh, thank God,” Garcia breathes. “This is Penelope Garcia with the FBI. He’s an FBI agent too and his name is Derek Morgan; you have to help him, please help him-”

“I’m so sorry, ma’am," the EMT says. 

"What?" Garcia gasps. He shouldn't be apologizing. He should be trying to help Morgan. "You-"

"There was nothing we could do. Your partner was already dead when we arrived.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think, and visit me at jet-plane.tumblr.com if you have any requests or suggestions!


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